Poltergeist g-2

by Kat Richardson

  "You don't usually share information, so… what do you want from me for this?"

  "I want your list of the participants in that project you're investigating."

  "Why don't you just ask Tuckman?"

  "Because, until now, you hadn't told me who your client was."

  I gave myself a mental kick in the head. "Ah. I'm still not sure the cases are related…"

  "It doesn't matter what you're sure of, Ms. Blaine." His voice was still calm and low, but he was starting to show that angry orange glow again. "I need to talk to everyone who might know the victim well enough to want to kill him. This is a crime of motive, not of a moment's anger or opportunity."

  I bit my lip. There was no reason to withhold the list, but I hadn't gotten well started on my own investigation yet, and I didn't want to deal with the complication of frightened subjects.

  "I'd like to have a few days to interview them myself, before you start on this list. They don't know that Mark's dead yet—or they shouldn't—and I'd like to get in a few questions first."

  He studied me. "Monday. I'll give you until Monday."

  I shook my head. "Tuesday morning. Today is Friday and it's already half shot. You can chase down the rest of the employees and the family over the weekend while I chase down these guys."

  "I've got my own family to see."

  "Come on. I've never known you to take a weekend off during an investigation like this, Solis."

  He growled a sigh. "All right. Tuesday morning."

  I pulled the list from my own folder, but hesitated to give it to him. "This is my only copy."

  "I'll write it down."

  I put it on the table between us and snatched his folder as he was copying the information. Solis didn't even look up. "I don't know why you want that. Preliminary autopsy report's got nothing to do with your case."

  "Hey, I'm a snoop. Sue me."

  "Don't tempt me."

  I leafed through the report, but there was little I hadn't already gotten from Solis or my own impressions. They'd done some experiments to see if Mark had been flung from the Murphy bed, but the angle was wrong. The long, rectangular bruise on his chest was noted, as was a smaller one about the same age on his left shoulder and some kind of old marks on his forearms. A photo showed what looked like shallow dents running all the way around his arms about four inches above his wrists. There were no defensive wounds and nothing under his fingernails but the usual dirt. Residue in the bedsheets indicated a woman had been there very recently and very intimately, but little else of interest. The long catalog of items found in the apartment ranged from the bicycle, with its lock intact, to the contents of the bathroom cabinets and dresser drawers, and I skimmed over it all without much interest.

  I handed the report back to Solis as he returned my list of project participants.

  "I've got a freebie for you, Solis."

  "You are too generous. I wonder what you'll expect in repayment later."

  I smiled. "That's for later. Now, you should know that Mark's job on the project was to fake poltergeist phenomena during séance sessions. The rest of the participants didn't know, but the research team did."

  He looked thoughtful and the orange glimmer receded a little. "That's interesting."

  "Yeah. I thought so, too." I finished my coffee and stood up. "Now that you've got what you wanted, I have a request."

  He glanced up and waited.

  "I've been yelled at once for not saying Mark was dead. I'd like to earn that myself, rather than by keeping secrets for you. Is it OK if I say Mark's dead now?"

  He gave a shrugging nod. "Sure."

  "Thanks. I have to get back to work. I imagine I'll be seeing you around."

  "Probably."

  I left Solis studying his file with his eyes narrowed to thoughtful slits.

  I walked back to my office through a traffic jam of ghosts. Pioneer Square seemed to be gearing up for Halloween in a couple of weeks and the spooks seemed to know it. I'd gotten to the point of recognizing some of the ghosts, though I didn't know who they'd been when alive and I didn't care to. Most were just loops of memory going through some repetitive routine of their lives for as long as they persisted. A few others were more autonomous and aware. If I'd ever been curious about them I'd too often come to regret my curiosity to indulge in it anymore. If they wanted anything from me, they would let me know. In the meantime, I preferred to avoid them the same way most people avoid too-talkative or nosy neighbors and relatives who expect favors.

  I let myself into my tiny office not quite overlooking the historically unattractive parking structure and noticed the flashing of my answering machine. All of the messages were numbers forwarded from my pager service. I reminded myself I'd have to do something about that soon, then sat down and called Tuckman's cell phone.

  He was in a bad mood when he answered.

  "What is it?"

  I got perky just to irritate him. "Hi, Dr. Tuckman. Sorry to disturb you, but I just got finished talking to the police about Mark Lupoldi."

  "Oh, for heaven's sake! Is he in jail? Is that why he didn't come to the session? Thoughtless son of a—"

  I dropped perky. "No, Tuckman. Lupoldi is not in jail. He's dead."

  I could hear Tuckman breathing and the noise of students echoing around him. He took his time replying. "When did this happen?"

  "Wednesday afternoon."

  "So this would have been before the session he missed?"

  "Yes. The report says he died about two o'clock. About an hour before the session."

  His voice was still tense. "What happened? Is there any connection to the project?"

  I wasn't inclined to give too much information to Tuckman—who was showing no concern for Mark's death except as it affected him— since he hadn't proven himself to be discreet and thoughtful in the recent past and I doubted he'd suddenly changed. "I don't know if there's a connection. He was killed in his apartment and it wasn't pretty. I arrived as the cops were collecting evidence, but there isn't much I can tell you. Besides, you'll be talking to the police yourself, soon enough."

  "What? Why?"

  "Because that's standard operating procedure for homicide investigations. They'll want to talk to anyone who might know why Lupoldi was killed or who killed him. Since the project was a major part of his life recently, they'll be interested in everyone else who was involved. Don't get paranoid about this—they'll talk to everyone he knew, from his family and co-workers to the bums he gave handouts to. It's a cop thing. They're kind of like me—when they want information they ask for it and they don't like to be lied to." I paused to let that sink in. "If I were you, I'd cancel Sunday's session."

  "Absolutely not!"

  "Why?"

  He explained as if I had not been paying attention in class. "If we're to expect disruption, it's all the more important to get as much done as possible before the group can be distracted. It's just as important that you complete your assignment in good order, so this is no excuse to let your investigations slide. The group will be less interested in you so long as the project is moving ahead. The moment it stalls, they'll start to fragment and focus on you or on Mark rather than the work. I can't allow that. The session must go on as planned and you must not tell the subjects about Lupoldi's death until I can break it to them in a way that causes minimal disruption. Now, do you understand?"

  "Oh, I understand, but I don't think you do. You're about to be involved in a murder investigation and the detective you drew isn't very forgiving or easily distracted. He is very smart, though, and he has a glacier where his heart ought to be and will tolerate no bullshit. If he thinks you deliberately concealed the fact of Lupoldi's death from your program participants and staff, he will wonder why and he will dig relentlessly to find out. And unlike me, he has no interest in protecting you from any fallout. If you're not going to cancel the session and if you don't tell the group what happened to Lupoldi, you had better be prepared to answer the questions that w
ill raise. I'm working for you, so if you insist that I say nothing I'll have to do that, but I would advise you to consider what that will look like to the police."

  "Ms. Blaine, you persistently lecture me, and I find it extremely annoying."

  "Dr. Tuckman, I suspect you'd be annoyed by anyone who didn't let you trample over them. I am trying to do my job and keep you from being hampered in doing yours. If you choose not to take my advice, that's up to you."

  I could hear him simmering. "I will brief the group on Sunday. Meanwhile, work on finding my saboteur."

  I started to tell him off on that point, too, but he'd hung up.

  I made more phone calls to his project team, but only managed to catch up to two of them: Dale Stahlqvist and Ken George. From the voices, I recognized George as the artist who'd made the picture of Celia, and Stahlqvist as the middle-aged, blond businessman. George was on his way out, but said he could spare me some time on Saturday morning. Stahlqvist granted me the last hour of his day, if I could be at his office in ten minutes. The swanky Columbia Center wasn't any farther away from the dirt-crusted charm of Pioneer Square than the justice center, though it required another hike up the hill. I said I'd be there and rushed back out.

  CHAPTER 11

  Columbia Center is the tallest building in Seattle. It rears up from Fifth Avenue like three obsidian tors melded into one jutting prominence by some weird volcanic fit. In defiance of the prevailing winds, curved surfaces face Puget Sound like black sails. It is the bastion of billion-dollar corporations and millionaire executives. Someone called it the most obscene erection of ego on the Pacific Coast and I don't think he was too far wrong. Occupying the top two floors is the most expensive businessman's club in the city—the Columbia Tower Club—out-Babbitting even the venerable Washington Athletic Club. Dale Stahlqvist came down to the soaring red stone lobby to meet me.

  Stahlqvist was one of those tall, pale blond men Hollywood likes to cast as Nazi Übermenschen or Viking raiders. In spite of my natural height plus the heels on my dress boots, he was still taller than me and he was inclined to look down his narrow beak as he assayed me.

  "Well," he rumbled as he stopped in front of me and shook my hand, "we should go upstairs. A little more privacy in the CTC."

  "All right," I agreed, and I hoped he was paying.

  "So," he said as we rode up in the elevator, "you're what, another of Tuckman's graduate students?"

  "No, Mr. Stahlqvist. I'm a private investigator."

  "Really? I didn't think they actually existed. How interesting. You're not what comes to mind when I think of private eyes."

  "Yeah, I'm taller than Bogie."

  He laughed. "And much prettier."

  While I suppose I am prettier than Humphrey Bogart, I'm no standout beauty and I know when I'm being buttered up, if not why. I imagined that Stahlqvist would have continued trying to turn my head a while longer if we hadn't arrived at the seventy-fourth floor just as he opened his mouth.

  "Oh. We're here. Please," he added, gesturing me ahead, into the hushed modern opulence of the Columbia Tower Club's lobby. Stahlqvist paused at the big mahogany reception desk to sign in and asked me to do the same; then he whisked me into the lounge, but not before I noticed the small sign thanking guests for adhering to the dress code and eschewing denim. It appeared that my lack of laundry time had brought me more than a dry-cleaning bill.

  All right, so the view was breathtaking—even with the drizzle. The lounge faced Puget Sound through the only flat wall in the building. The dark glass stretched uninterrupted across the whole width and height of the wall and around the exterior corner until necessity required a less transparent segment for the service area. Cold water, painted pink and orange with sunset, spread at the foot of Seattle's hills and, to the west, the sudden, white-peaked serration of the Olympic Mountains cut into the clouds above the peninsula. In spite of the tinted glass, it seemed as if I were a mere step from floating out over the view, weightless and free. This was not a room for those who suffer vertigo.

  Since it was four o'clock, the lounge was a little crowded and I was relieved there were no free stools at the bar, facing that distracting panorama. We were forced to take a table, though both seats still commanded the view with the merest turn of the head. I chose the seat with the poorer aspect and Stahlqvist, acting the gentleman, couldn't argue with me when the declining sun was in his face instead of mine. Though I can see a great deal that Stahlqvist couldn't in any light, I still like the old-fashioned advantages, too.

  He tried to order me an impressive drink, but I insisted on soda water with lime. "I'm working. I shouldn't drink."

  "Oh, yes. But I am not, so I'll have the Balvenie Fifteen on the rocks, thanks."

  The waiter nodded, smiled, and left us. Stahlqvist turned his attention back to me. "So. What can I do for you, Harper?"

  "I'm doing some additional checking on Dr. Tuckman's project and I wanted to ask you a few question about it."

  "On whose behalf are you asking?"

  I smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "I'm not able to tell you that. Will that be a problem?"

  "No. I can't see that it would. I have nothing to hide."

  "You'll pardon me for saying, but this project doesn't seem like your sort of thing at all, Dale."

  The waiter returned with our drinks as a frown flickered across Stahlqvist's face—he didn't like my using his first name. He sipped his scotch before answering. "It's not, really. My wife's thing—friend of Tuck's from the university days." And Stahlqvist didn't approve of that friendship. He rambled on for a while about his college days and his climb to economic power in the local community, dropping names and numbers. His only interest was money. It was obvious he didn't have any background that would enable him to fake any phenomena, nor would he care to.

  I nodded for a while, then nudged him back on track. "You've been with the project since the beginning, so what's your general impression of the progress? And how do you feel about Tuckman's premise—that the human mind is the force at work?" I asked.

  "I was skeptical at first, I admit it—I don't have any patience for mystical crap. Tuckman's completely right—this magic mumbo jumbo is just that. It's people who make the world what it is. It's people who really have the power to move—well, to move mountains! It's quite satisfying."

  I'd just bet it was. Peeking at him through the Grey, I could see that Stahlqvist glowed with excitement. He loved justifying his power and position. As he blithered on about what he felt they could do, I noticed that he had a thin yellow thread of energy encircling his head. It trailed away to the north, dimming in the sunlight and distance until I couldn't see it without taking a big step into the Grey—which I wasn't going to do then and there. There was something familiar about the thread… As I tried to bring it to mind, I lost track of his words. Until he put his hand on my knee and bent a suggestive look at me.

  I glanced at his hand, then back into his face. "I doubt your wife would approve of that offer."

  "Cara's her own woman. I'm my own man."

  My bullshit meter pegged to the redline. Even in the Grey he had a smarmy shiftiness to him that only reinforced that feeling. I let my inner bitch chill the stare I locked onto his. "My leg doesn't belong to either of you."

  Stahlqvist looked surprised and pulled his hand back, making the movement into a glance at his Rolex. "It is getting a bit late. What else did you need to know?"

  I asked him for his impressions of the other participants and watched his aura flicker and shift colors as he replied, flushing through oranges and reds and into sickly green spikes. He said they were all great friends, though it was obvious he disdained them. He was jealous of Celia's fondness for Ken—the artist—and of the older military man's ability to assume control of the group. Dale Stahlqvist felt he merited more consideration from both ghosts and humans—including his wife. Something between them caused Stahlqvist distress, but he slapped a lid on it.

  The only t
ime I was sure he was telling the truth as he saw it was when I asked him if anyone was faking the phenomena.

  He shook his head, laughing. "Not possible. Tuckman's made sure of that. What we get is real." He'd convinced himself, in spite of his own disbelief in "murabo jumbo." Tuckman seemed to be right on track there.

  I stood up and offered Stahlqvist my hand. "Well, that's all I needed to know. Thank you. I appreciate your time. May I call you if I have any additional questions?" I noticed that the little yellow thread hadn't wavered once and I was still wondering what it was.

  He stood up, too. "Certainly, Harper. It was a pleasure to meet you." He shook my hand, leaving an odd cold spot on my palm, and watched me go.

  I exited onto Fifth Avenue in the long, dark shadow of the black tower behind me as the streetlights came on. The road ahead was choked with cars trying to turn left onto 1–5 southbound. I was glad to be on foot. I turned and started up Fifth toward Westlake Mall, thinking about that thin yellow thread that looked so much like the strands of energy I'd seen wadded into a ball under the séance table.

  The Pager Cart had gone out of business. I scouted around and found a kiosk selling mobile phone service, but not pagers. After two other stops, I emerged from a shop in the lower level of the Pacific Place Mall with a cell phone I'd been assured could accept my pages and receive forwarded calls from my office number, too. I was a little nonplussed about the two-year contract I'd had to accept to get the plastic marvel of miniaturization and modern convenience, but I'd been impressed by the fact that it got a signal at all two floors below street level.

  I poked the phone, amazed to see that it was already working. I realized that the sun was well down now, so I tried calling Cameron. He sounded anxious when he heard it was me.